Zach LaVine Makes Abrupt Comment After 42-Point Performance

Zach LaVine is one of the best shooters in the NBA, which is exactly why the Sacramento Kings wanted him, and he reminded everyone of that after hanging 42 on the Miami Heat on Saturday night.

LaVine is one of the more efficient scorers in the league as well, shooting 49% from the field, 39% from three, and 86% from the line, and this might even be a down year for him. Zach has also taken the most shots on the team this season with 318 attempts. All the numbers point to Zach having no trouble putting the ball in the hoop for the most part and getting a lot of opportunities to do so.

That’s why his recent comments to Cyro Asseo after his best scoring game of the season in Miami were so interesting.

“I can do that any night if they give me the damn ball enough," LaVine said after his 42-point performance.

I asked Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine, as he walked to the team bus, on scoring 42 points vs Miami Heat after having 2 points the game before:

“I can do that any night if they give me the damn ball enough.”
— Cyro Asseo (@CyroAsseo) December 7, 2025

Is LaVine Actually Not Getting Enough Opportunities?

Zach is taking over 15 shots per game, including 7+ threes per outing, while being second on the team in minutes per game to Keegan Murray. That’s even including LaVine’s recent slump over the past ten or so games, concluding with Sacramento’s loss to the Houston Rockets, where he scored just two points on five attempts.

On the surface, his comments seem a bit misguided to say the least, but let’s dive into the micro to see if he might have a point.

In the past ten games, LaVine is averaging 14.1 shots per outing, which is just one attempt below his season average of 15.1. His averages have definitely gone down, though, shooting 45%, 34%, and 83% from the field, three-point line, and charity stripe, respectively.

A big change for this season that may be affecting him is how many of his made shots are assisted. Last season, almost 49% of LaVine’s shots were unassisted versus just 32% this year. That is a massive difference for a player like Zach, who traditionally sits well above 50% unassisted field goals made every single year.

So is this really about getting the former All-Star the ball more, or has his role just changed? It’s a bit of both if you ask me.

Don't know if Zach LaVine is pissed off, well rested, or just likes playing in Miami, but this level of engagement on offense needs to be the norm.

When he's on, he's elite offensively.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) December 7, 2025

Zach isn’t near the top of the NBA in shots per game. In fact, he isn’t even in the top 40 and is averaging the same amount of shots per game as guys like Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Trey Murphy. It's fair for him to feel the way he does, but there are real reasons why LaVine isn’t getting more shots.

First, even though his percentage of made field goals off assists has increased substantially in the last two seasons, he’s still far behind a player like Klay Thompson, who has only had one season with less than 70% of his made shots coming off assists.

Second, LaVine isn’t the playmaker that many of the other players on the list are, which is something that we’ll explore next.

Why Change is a Good Thing for the Kings, Even If It Isn’t For Zach

I don’t need to keep hammering the point. LaVine is a professional scorer and a top-tier shooter, there’s no arguing that fact. The issue with LaVine has been that he doesn’t bring much to the table other than putting the ball in the basket.

While it may be the most important part of the game, the NBA has become far less heliocentric in recent years as teams look to use movement to get defenses off balance rather than isolation playtypes. There are obviously still heliocentric players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Tyrese Maxey, and others, but they all bring more to the table than simply scoring.

42 POINTS. 8 THREE-POINTERS. KINGS W.

ZACH LAVINE BALLED OUT IN MIAMI 💯 pic.twitter.com/MQ8qcs3e3J
— NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2025

When looking at ESPN Analytics’ average net points per game metric, which is a catch-all for a player's overall performance, you will find LaVine 474th in the league. No one should take this as an absolute truth, but LaVine’s on/off numbers show individual success not translating into team success.

The Kings average fewer points per possession, shoot worse, and get to the line less, according to Cleaning The Glass. While his defense is an issue despite better effort this season, him being one-dimensional offensively is the main reason why he shouldn’t get more opportunities.

He has a 1.09 assist-to-turnover ratio this season and one of the lowest assist percentages in the league among guards at just 10.4%. Put simply, he doesn’t have the profile of a number one option because he doesn’t impact the offense as a whole, no matter how high his usage is.

This really is the crux of why LaVine’s impact on winning has always been questioned. Other stars aren’t great defenders, but the way they create efficient offense for the entire team is what makes them stand out and overcome weaknesses.

LaVine, for all his scoring talent, just isn’t an offensive engine, and feeding players like him all game long isn’t a recipe for success. If he were able to scale down his role and play more off screens and movement similar to Thompson with the Golden State Warriors, I see a path for LaVine to get the ball a lot more. Whether that happens or not is another story.

Is LaVine Actually Not Getting Enough Opportunities?

Why Change is a Good Thing for the Kings, Even If It Isn’t For Zach

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